|
Coaching Notes from Marcia Kish: "Start Small". If you would like try to deploy small group instruction within your classroom setting, think about start out with only three learning studios.
Setting up small group instruction can seem overwhelming if the traditional form of teaching is whole group delivery of the content. To bridge over to small group instruction, try to break apart the lesson into three different learning studios. The three learning studios include a Small Group Studio with the teacher, Independent Practice Studio, and Digital Content Studio. A third of the class will attend each studio for about twelve minutes. The timer will go off, and the students will rotate to the next studio. Another twelve minutes will go by, and the students will move to the last learning studio for the day. By breaking the lesson into three learning studios, the students and teacher will become accustomed to delivering the content through small group instruction.
Watch And Learn More about Getting Started with Small Group InstructionFREE March Workshops- Sign Up Today
We are booking Spring, Summer, and Fall Workshops and Coaching Sessions
0 Comments
Have you ever wondered what Blended Learning looks like in a High School setting? Then take a moment to watch the video from CyPark High School. CyPark High School is located in CyFair ISD in Katy, Texas. If you have any questions after watching the video feel free to post to this blog post.
Direct Link to the video
What is the difference between a Phase One, Phase Two and Phase Three checklist? This video will quickly cover the difference while also showcasing how to build a Phase Three checklist.
Direct Link to the video
If you are looking for ways to increase student engagement and ownership in the classroom? Then try to add in choice board to the checklist or lessons. In this video, I am going to share out how to get started with choice boards, how to Differentiated checklist, and where to find sample checklist.
Direct link to the video:
 Welcome to another school year and another edition of the Weekly Blend with myself, Marcia Kish. I am excited that you have found this blog and hopefully subscribed to our YouTube Channel. My goal is to share, guide, and be the idea person for Blended Learning that you are looking for to help support your classroom, school, and district. With the Hybrid teaching behind most of our schools, I am looking forward to implementing Blended Learning into the onsite and virtual classrooms again this year. As I move forward with Coaching the Three Phases of Blended Learning, I remind teachers that even though the COVID shutdowns effective our classrooms, that Hybrid Teaching was challenging, and that moving back into a social distance classroom is complex, that all educators are true heroes. Without our educators being brave and willing to try something new, the children would have suffered. So first and foremost, thank you. Thank you for being Brave. Thank you for sticking your neck out there and trying. Thank you for failing and trying the next day again. Thank you for being the amazing human beings that are guiding support for our children. Thank you.  Getting Started with Blended LearningWow, what a summer of professional development learning opportunities for schools across the country. With both virtual and onsite options, I was on the road meeting people for the first time, introducing myself to educators that I worked with for 365 days, and connecting again with educators from pre-COVID days. It feels great to be back. In this weekly edition, I will be sharing out ideas for
Getting Started with Small GroupsThe idea of adding in one thing to another hectic year is unreasonable. However, small group instruction could actually eliminate some of the stress from the "COVID Slide" or Learning Gaps. In this section of the Weekly Blend, I am going to talk about how to start small with breaking apart the lesson and meeting with groups of students while other students are working on independent practice or digital content. I call these different activities learning studios.  Studios Explained
Deployment PlanWhat I am about to showcase is a GUIDE and a RESOURCE. I am showcasing examples of how to deploy small group instruction through the Three Phases of Blended Learning Model. Please use the is Deployment Plan as it aligns to your curriculum and pacing guide. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me for help.   Week One:
 Week Two:
 Week Three:
 Week Four:
The Deployment Plan for the rest of the year will be posted through out upcoming Blogs and in the Three Phases of Blended Learning Guide Book. (Coming Soon) Phase One in ActionMy first onsite coaching session of the 2021/2022 School year was at Splendora ISD in Texas. I had the pleasure of visiting with High School, Middle School, Intermediate, and Elementary classroom teachers. For only three weeks into the school year, these teaches were rocking checklists, learning studios, and so much more. I am so proud of the hard work that they all accomplished in such a short amount of time. My journey with Splendora ISD started in July with a three-day workshop with a cohort of educators. Together we went through getting started with Blended Learning, Phase One, Phase Two, and using data to drive the small group instruction examples. We even had time to plan together a lesson to be used at the end of August. Below are examples and photos of all of the educators' hard work. ELAR Classroom In a Phase OneAll of the Splendora ISD Blended Learning Cohort Team did an amazing job. Each team member earned their Phase One Blended Learning Sticker. --- Congratulations. Below I am showcasing one classroom that had all four studios up and running. This is a quick view of Ms. Martin's 7th Grade ELAR classroom. Some of her key elements of her Studio Day include:
 Welcome to Week Two of the Weekly BlendThank you for joining us again this week as we continue to provide Tips and Tricks, Resources, and Guides for the New Blended Learning Classrooms. This week we broke the videos into three parts to make them easier to view, take notes, and explore the content. Part One video will showcase my favorite, the blended learning deployment plan. Sometimes, it is tough to transition into a new teaching style, but with this deployment plan, we make it easy by demonstrating how to start slow. Watch Part One video to learn more. Part Two video defines Blended Learning "Studios." This video will walk you through Centers vs. Stations vs. Studios and why I came up with the idea for Studios. Finally, Part Three video will showcase technology tools, Future Ready Ideas, and the Blended Learning Starter Kit. Let's get started with Part One of Week Two of the Weekly Blend with Marcia Kish Weekly Blend Part One: Deployment Plan
Weekly Blend Part Two: "Studios"
Weekly Blend Part Three: Tips and Tricks
Preview for Week Three of the Weekly BlendWow, what a fantastic week of resources and ideas for getting started with Blended Learning. Next week on the weekly blend, we will break down all four learning studios and talk about what activities can be found in each studio. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel, so you don't miss any videos that we post. Have a fantastic week! --- Marcia
 Welcome to the Weekly Blend!The Summer Weekly Blend will last for a total of 12 weeks. Each week, we will provide Tips and Tricks for getting started with Blended Learning, an overview of key elements of Blended Learning, and ideas that you can use in the classroom. Week One will showcase, eGlass a new White Board for the classroom, design vs decorating the blended learning classroom, and Blended Learning resources. Let's Get Started eGlass - The New White Board
Design vs Decorate
Blended Learning ResourcesTo round out Week One of the Weekly Blend Summer Edition, we wanted to share out fantastic resources and guides for the getting started with the New Blended Learning Classroom. Take a look at some of the links listed below.
Join Us Next WeekJoin us next week for Week Two of the Weekly Blend Summer Edition where we will showcase how a blended learning deployment plan, define "Studios", provide a list of technology websites, and the Blended Learning Starter Kit. See you next week!
The Weekly Blend with Marcia Kish is a resource for Educators, Instructional Coaches, and Administrators, who would like to learn more about implementing Blended Learning into the Virtual, Hybrid, and Social Distance classrooms. Each week, Marcia Kish will share a coaching video, new tech tools, tips and tricks, lessons learned, what to try next, and her favorite coaching items. Join us each week to learn more about deploying and implementing Blended Learning strategies into the classroom.
Weekly Coaching Video
FREE Snappy Class App for Google Classroom
Tips and Tricks
Across the board, almost all of the educators I am currently working with are asking for more ways to increase student engagement within the virtual and hybrid classroom setting. Below, I will showcase three of my top favorite ways to engage students during class. Hopefully, with these couple of tips and tricks, you will see more screens on during your lesson.
Individual Breakout Rooms or Choose Your Room
How to Increase Student Engagement
The most common struggle I hear among all of the teachers I am currently working with is student engagement. For the last couple of weeks, I have asked the teams to switch their mindset from being worried about student engagement and think about the lack of involvement as part of student ownership. Why are educators worried about engaging students? Shouldn't we provide ways for students to have voice, choice, and ownership in "their" learning?
I used the following analogy this week. Think of a cheerleader at a football game. The cheerleader is trying to engage the fans to cheer, clap, and yell to encourage the team to move the ball down the field. Now think of the student section at that same football game. The student section starts the cheers, chants and encourages others around them to motivate the football team. The cheerleader is the teacher! The student section is the students in the classroom. Both are important parts of the crowd supporting the team. When teachers stop and think about the amount of time, they spend trying to get the students engaged with the lesson vs. how much easier it would be to allow them to voice, choose, and ownership in the learning planning, the lesson becomes a big eye-opener.
FREE GOOGLE DRAW TEMPLATES
Try one of our Google Draw Templates to increase student ownership. Allow students time to collaborate with the activities in a small group while the teachers is pulling small groups to reteach the content standards.
Coaching Lessons Learned
This week while working with a team of Middle School teachers from Texas, I set aside time during our coaching session to have the teachers individually plan. I put about 20 minutes on the clock for them to work on their lesson plan. I made myself virtually available during that time, so if they wanted to ask questions or show me their lesson, the teachers could do so. While the first group was working, I did not have one teacher ask for help. When the time for planning was complete, I wondered if anyone had any questions. Crickets. Yikes, I wanted the teachers to asked for individual help, and I wanted teachers to showcase what they created. I knew it was not their fault, but instead, it was how I set up the work time.
STOP, ASK and LISTEN
After the first group of teachers attended the virtual coaching session, I thought about what worked and what did not work while planning with the teachers. I realized that I did not give them enough time to plan, that the teachers did not ask any questions, and I rushed the coaching session. During the Administrator reflection session, I asked what they thought went well and what I could do better. I listened. I did not respond but instead Stopped and Listened to what they were saying. They had the same concerns. The administrative team wanted the teachers to have more time to plan. I adjusted my coaching session for the next group. I set up the first part of the meeting the same way as the first group. However, when it came time to plan a lesson, I switched it up for the teachers. I add more time for individual planning, and I put the teachers into Individual Breakout Rooms in Zoom. Even though most of the teachers were in the same physical classroom, I put them in Individual Breakout Rooms to ask me targeted planning questions. It worked! During the 35 minutes of planning, I met with six different teachers, and I gave them individual help and guidance on their lesson plans. My time was used more effectively, and the teachers felt more successful. By stopping, asking, and listening to my reflections and the administrative team's reflections, we made the adjustments needed to ensure that everyone had time to ask questions. Who we are working with this week
CyFair ISD - Coaching sessions on hybrid learning for coaches and instructional support team
Judson ISD - Middle School training for the Math, Science, ELAR, and Social Studies Team Dean MS at CyFair ISD - Exploring data driven mini-lessons for the Middle School Classroom Spring, Summer, and Fall Workshops
We are currently booking for Spring, Summer, and Fall workshops, coaching sessions, and Keynote Presentations. Please click on this link to download a copy of our top session topics.
Blended Learning Workshop Information
With classrooms moving to a hybrid, live-streaming, virtual, and social distance environments, we decided to create a step-by-step guide on using Zoom Breakout Rooms to help meet all learners' needs. In this blog post, we will showcase examples of using Zoom for small group instruction, individual work time, and exploring the different settings that will make teaching a little bit easier during the 2020 school year.
Breakout Rooms
One of my favorite features in Zoom is the Breakout Rooms. During every virtual professional development workshop that I deliver, I am always sending educators to the different breakout rooms to discuss, share, and implement the strategies taught during the whole group session. Using the same approach that I apply during my workshops, we are now implementing the hybrid, virtual, live-streaming, or social distance classroom environment. Below is an example of setting up a 50-minute classroom setting using Zoom Breakout Rooms.
Zoom Settings
Zoom is continuously adjusting and modifying the platform to adapt to the virtual, hybrid, live-stream, and social distance classroom environments. I have found that exploring the different Zoom settings through the Zoom.us website is essential to ensure that the Zoom session you deploy fits your classroom needs. Take a moment to watch the following videos on Zoom Settings.
Video One: Settings Inside of ZoomVideo Two: Settings Inside of Zoom.usZoom Printable Guide
Eight Ways to Use Zoom Breakout Rooms
Explore Eight Ways to Use Zoom Breakout Rooms. The link will provide you with tips, tricks, strategies, and how to use Breakout Rooms for small group instruction in the eight short videos.
|
AuthorS
Marcia Kish - Blended and Personalized Learning coach that designed the Three Phases of Blended Learning Categories |
RSS Feed